Once you start brewing, it makes a really, really good pot of coffee. Our taste test revealed the OXO On 12-Cup coffee was “dark and strong” and appealed to the more traditionalist coffee palates. The great flavor comes from the brewing process. The OXO machines have wide shower heads with multiple ports through which water streams, dispersing it evenly throughout the brew basket. Lots of other coffee makers spout water through just one hole, or through shower heads with a smaller radius, which can increase the chances of uneven extraction.

Since semi-automatic espresso makers require you to dose the coffee yourself, grind and pack it, they give the brewer more control. You can tinker and master the art of making espresso. You can learn to pull the perfect shot. Still, fully automatic machines are a good option for someone who wants quality espresso at home, but wants to put in less effort (and skill). According to our expert from Students of Coffee—and our own online research—a semi-automatic machine is the best way to make espresso.
The OXO On 12-Cup feels high-tech without being high maintenance. It’s beautifully constructed, with silicone gaskets, a stainless steel carafe, and sturdy-feeling plastic. But let’s go ahead and get its biggest downside right out there in the open. Of the 10 machines we tested, it took the longest to brew eight cups of coffee — nearly 15 minutes. It heats its entire reservoir of water to temperature before a drop touches the grounds, and if you’re jonesing for a full pot to start off your day, that wait is going to feel like a lifetime. This was particularly noticeable considering four of the machines we tested brewed the same amount of coffee in less than half that time. The Bunn BTX-B Velocity Brew could do it in three minutes flat.
Brew yourself a fresh mug of coffee with the sleek, stylish, and highly functional Farberware 8-Cup Classic Yosemite Percolator. A must-have countertop appliance, this percolator makes sure that your morning coffee rituals are refreshing and energetic. Featuring immaculate lines and a fine finesse, it has a classic design that looks great with most kitchen decors. Compact, easy to operate, and space-saving, it can easily be accommodated on your kitchen counter without occupying much space. The...

If you’re not one yourself, you definitely know one. Espresso, which originated in Italy, is a finely ground, highly concentrated version of coffee that packs a punch of caffeine into a single one-ounce shot (or two, if you’d like a double-shot), making it richer and stronger than a regular cup of coffee. People who drink espresso know that it’s all about quality, which means if you’re not getting your tiny cup of life from your local barista, you best do your research and invest in a worthy espresso machine to make it at home.

Where MistoBox really shines is in its efficiently designed website and deep customization. If you want to, you can sign up for a scheduled delivery of curated espresso blends or single origin coffees and just let it ride—no input is necessary beyond the initial question of what kind of roast you like. But if you want to get a little more involved, you can rate each coffee you receive to refine future shipments or—if you want to take the future into your own hands—curate your own list of upcoming beans with a feature MistoBox calls the "Brew Queue." The number of choices is dizzying, and there are plenty of user reviews to guide your way thanks to a very active community.
This Good Housekeeping Seal star features an all-black body, a 12-cup glass carafe, a reusable filter and a backlit LCD screen with digital touchpad controls. You can program the clock to automatically brew coffee in the morning. It'll make a hot pot very quickly, but drink up — the keep warm feature didn't keep the coffee as warm as other models in our tests.
You might have heard that purchasing a double-boiler espresso machine or a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller will give you more accuracy and control over temperature. They’re definitely features to dig into for advanced espresso crafters, but expect to pay an additional $400 for a PID and $800+ for a second boiler. Since we wanted to focus on beginner machines, we stuck to single-boiler models without PID controllers for this review.

The Baratza Encore is simplicity defined and our top coffee grinder. This burr grinder has a 40-setting grind size selector, an on-off switch for continuous grinding, and a push-button for manual control. That's it. Other grinders include complicated timers, built-in scales, strength adjustment sliders, and other doodads, but Baratza suggests that you don't need them—and they're right. Measure your beans using a separate scale, grind them fresh for each cup. That's the way to do it.

"I've wanted an espresso machine for a while now but just don't have the room for it. I started researching the Nespresso line and wasn't sure how I'd like it at first. I am not usually a fan of pod style coffee machines and was worried about how well this would perform. I got the Pixie model because I don't have a big kitchen and this thing takes up barely any space on my counter. The water heats up quickly so in less than a minute you can have a cup of espresso. As other people have mentioned, it is kind of loud but it is only for a few seconds and doesn't seem to disturb anyone else in my house. The few seconds of noise is worth it for me to have a delicious latte a few minutes later. There is a little box that collects the pods (up to 10 I think) for easy disposal. I also feel like the Nespresso pods have a much better flavor that other pod coffee. If you want a quick espresso and don't have a lot of space for a machine then I highly recommend the Pixie. I am very happy with it and use it daily."
An early variant technique, called a balance siphon, was to have the two chambers arranged side-by-side on a sort of scale-like device, with a counterweight attached opposite the initial (or heating) chamber. Once the near-boiling water was forced from the heating chamber into the brewing one, the counterweight was activated, causing a spring-loaded snuffer to come down over the flame, thus turning "off" the heat, and allowing the cooled water to return to the original chamber. In this way, a sort of primitive 'automatic' brewing method was achieved.
"A rare example of the meeting of form and function. This machine is both beautiful to look at and makes wonderful delicious espresso and cappuccino. I was hesitant to spend this much on a "coffee maker", but took into consideration what it costs to get a decent cappuccino from a cafe or Starbucks and finally gave in. Boy am I glad I did. All it takes to get me out of bed in the morning is the happy thought of pulling yet another delicious shot from this wonderful machine."

“Self-identified coffee snob. Couldn’t be happier. Easy to operate, functions as advertised, instructions are clear. The metal filter included does what it needs to do. I recommend a relatively coarse grind (imagine the feel of cornmeal) with the metal filter to get the full flavor of the coffee. If you’re a bit of a coffee snowflake (no disrespect intended) and don’t like the ‘mud’ at the bottom of the cup, you should stick with the paper filter. Either way, the coffee maker itself does the job nicely.”

Some machines come with all the accessories you need to make espresso, but others don't. Check to see if your machine includes any accessories before you buy them. You will need a grinder to have freshly ground espresso, a milk frother or a milk frothing pitcher if you like foamy milk for cappuccinos or lattes, and a tamper to press down the coffee grounds before you make espresso. We explain why you need each one and recommend which ones to buy below:
This is an easy-to-use coffee maker that'll add some retro style to your countertop. It includes a pause-and-pour feature for times when you need caffeine before the brewing process is done — and after brewing, it keeps your coffee piping hot for 40 minutes (you can monitor the length of time on the indicator gauge on the front display). Available in black, cream, white and red.

Whole bean coffee that you grind yourself is preferable to pre-ground, too. The bean’s exterior traps and protects all of the delicate, volatile, and water-soluble oils that give coffee its flavor. As soon as you break the protective shell, it’s easy for the flavor to get contaminated, and much of the aroma escapes as soon as the oils are exposed to air.

Treat yourself to a new coffee maker from our selection at Williams Sonoma and get those mornings off to a brighter start. Choose from ultra machines for the office to low-tech coffee makers for camp and off-grid activities. Coffee machines are available with and without a coffee mill so you can choose to have the convenience of grinding your beans right where you brew your favorite beverages. Deluxe coffee centers allow you to make coffee, espresso, cappuccino and other coffee-based beverages including latte, pepresso, and Irish coffee. Several versions of coffee-espresso makers include milk foaming technology for creamy toppings on your mochas and macchiatos. Deluxe coffee makers and machines are superb additions to galleries, offices, club meeting spaces and anywhere you need to make a lot of coffee fast.